"Talli, please." Reilly begged. "We need you there." Talli said nothing, taking another sip of iced tea. She had come to hear Reilly's offer to return to Hypnos, not sure why she hadn't told Reilly what to do with her offer. "Yamaki's not in charge anymore. The government has had him transferred to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation."
"Oh?" Talli asked. "Who's in charge now?"
"Me." Reilly replied.
"Well, congratulations." Talli replied acidly, ignoring Reilly's flinch at her tone. "Do you really think I could just come back after what you did to that poor little girl?"
Reilly frowned. "How many times do I have to apologize for that? And who do you think let you, Henry, and Rika in without alerting the security teams?"
"Then I guess we're even."
Reilly fought back the urge to scream. Truth be told, she still felt miserable about what she did, and what she helped Yamaki do, to Hitomi Motomiya. "Talli, I'm begging you. I'm sorry about what happened, but I can't change what happened. You're my best friend, and one of the best programmers out there. Please come back. You're second to me in seniority at Hypnos, you'll be second in command there."
Talli looked up. Reilly did look sincere, and the two had been friends since Reilly had moved to Tokyo several years back. "Alright. I'll come back."
--------------
Digicross Tamers episode 15
'Hypnos' new chief.'
--------------
==Downtown Tokyo, later that night
The Wong family made their way through the apartment building, trying to track down a the home of Robert 'Dolphin' McCoy and his family. "He never could give good directions." Janyu grumbled. "This is the third place we've checked."
"Now, dear," Meilin Wong said, "you know that he didn't mean to do that. It's just the way he is, that's all."
"Well, I hope we get there soon. I think Suzie's getting a little bored of the whole thing." Janyu cast a glance back at his daughter, who was looking around, face glum.
Meilin shrugged. "Maybe we should have let her bring that rabbit doll she likes so much."
Henry, walking behind Suzie, suppressed a shudder. "Mom, you know she'd lose it."
"Hey down there!" Robert called from an open doorway. "About time!"
"Next time, have Anita give the directions!" Janyu replied, running up. "We went through two different buildings before we got here."
"It's not my fault that you can't follow directions." Robert replied calmly. "If you'd read them the right way, you could have avoided all this." He leaned over, stage-whispering to Meilin, Henry, and Suzie. "You should have seen him in college. He couldn't find the student lounge if you painted arrows on the floor. Come on in! Alice! Company's here."
"Little Alice?" Meilin asked. "I haven't seen her in years! How is she? And where's Kenny?"
"Kenny's visiting his uncle in America. And Alice has...changed...Ah, here she is." Alice stepped into the entry hall, not saying anything. She was dressed all in black, and had a silver crucifix hanging from a thin chain around her neck. Her face was hard to read, as if she was keeping all her emotions in check.
Suzie stared wide-eyed at Alice. "You're really pretty." she breathed.
Blinking, Alice glanced at Suzie, then at her father. That wasn't the normal response she got. "Um...thank you?"
Suzie smiled. "But wouldn't you look better in pink?" Everyone else facefaulted.
"Has she been talking to Terriermon?" Janyu asked Henry quietly.
"Not that I know of. I'll ask him when we get home." Henry replied.
==Asaji home, about the same time.
"Nonsense," Nami said to Hitomi, "I think you'll look lovely in it tomorrow."
Hitomi eyed the dress uneasily. School photos were scheduled for tomorrow, and Nami had suggested Hitomi wear the dress that Rika's mother had given her. "Isn't it a little too much for a school photograph?"
"You can never look too nice for such a thing." Nami replied. "A lot of the girls in your class are going to find their best clothes for this. You can just wear your normal school outfit, and change when it's time for your photograph to be taken."
"Hey, relax." Eevee added. "You'll blow them out of the water. You sure did a job on Kenta the other day."
Nami looked up. "Kenta?"
Eevee nodded. "He was watching while we were practising at Rika's place. I figured he wasn't a threat as long as Kazu wasn't there."
Nami grinned. "The principal kept Kazu after class for throwing doughnuts in the pool."
Eevee sighed. "Figures. Anyway, Rika's mom comes out and asks Rika to try on a new dress. Somehow, Hitomi got pulled in."
"Well, she did ask nicely." Hitomi said, blushing.
Eevee smirked. "You should have seen her when she came out. Her face matched the colour of the dress. Rika's mom was so impressed with how it looked on her, she decided to let Hitomi keep it."
"Well, that was nice of her." Nami said. "Trust me, you'll look lovely tomorrow. We can keep the dress with my things in the teacher's lounge. That's what I'm doing with the other girls' dresses tomorrow as well. Now you'd better wash up, dinner's going to be ready soon."
There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Hitomi said, walking over to the door. She opened the door. "Who is...." she gasped, stepping back. Eevee looked up, saw who it was, and quickly moved between Hitomi and the newcomer, growling fiercely. Nami looked up, grabbed Noctowl's pokeball, ready to release the bird if need be.
"C...Can I come in?" Reilly asked.
==5 minutes later
"You're kidding." Nami said quietly. Hitomi had remained silent, Eevee placing himself between his trainer and the Hypnos agent.
Reilly sighed. "Look, things have changed, Hypnos doesn't want to harm any of the digimon or their partners."
"I beg to differ." Eevee snarled.
Reilly flinched, taken aback by the rage in Eevee's voice. "It has changed. Digimon are still appearing in Tokyo, and we want to find out why. Yamaki did cross the line, yes. Did I do anything to stop him? No. I should have, but I didn't. I want to start making up for that right now."
"How?" Nami asked.
"Hypnos was formed with the goal of determining the threat that digimon posed to this world. Mr. Yamaki...no, Isao Akiyama turned that into a personal vendetta against digimon. He blames all digimon for the death of his son, Ryo."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Nami replied evenly. "But that doesn't make up for what you put Hitomi through."
"No, it doesn't. But I want to put Hypnos back on the course it was originally intended to take; a means of detecting and isolating digimon before they can damage the city. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Hypnos would like to hire the tamers?"
"Oh, that's too rich." Eevee said. "Tell me, what did you have in mind for isolating digimon? Was it-"
"Eevee." Hitomi whispered. "Wait."
"Hire them?" Nami asked, incredulous. "They're just kids!"
"Kids that have had the most success in dealing with digimon appearing here in Tokyo. We can detect digimon appearing, but there's nothing we can do beyond that. I plan on approaching all the tamers, and all the monster makers, too. That includes Mr. Wong. Just think about it, OK?" Reilly left.
"Well?" Eevee asked Hitomi.
"She wasn't lying." Hitomi answered. "I think she was serious."
"You mean...No, I won't allow it! Who knows what they might do!"
"I got to go with Ms. Asaji." Eevee said. "I know you have a good sense about these things, but I don't trust them. Even if Henry's dad is working with them."
"Why don't we talk to Mr. Wong tomorrow, after school?" Hitomi asked. "He might know a bit more about how Hypnos has changed."
Nami relented. "Alright. I just don't want you to get hurt."
Hitomi smiled. "I'll be careful."
==McCoy apartment
"So, that's the situation." Janyu finished. He and Henry had spoken to Robert 'Dolphin' McCoy for about half an hour, filling them in on digimon, what had happened at Hypnos, and, after some persuasion, Hitomi's story. "I know it's a lot to take."
"That kid? Yeah, a bit." Dolphin replied.
"It's true." Henry insisted. "That's why Hypnos was so interested in her and Eevee."
"Hypnos, yeah. So, what about our friendly government conspiracy?" Dolphin asked.
Janyu grimaced. "Actually, I got a call from Reilly today. Yamaki was transfered out of Hypnos, and sent to a head-shrinker for evaluation. He'll probably get buried away somewhere. But now, Reilly's in charge, and she wants to hire us and the kids."
Dolphin blinked. "The kids?"
Henry nodded. "All of the tamers, according to her. She said we're the only ones that can handle the digimon that appear here."
"You don't sound convinced." Dolphin observed.
"Well, I don't like the idea of being a hired gun. Especially for Hypnos."
"Even if I'm there?" Janyu asked.
"Dad?"
"Tao?"
"Reilly made a good point. And I think we can use the resources at Hypnos to help Hitomi get home; they have the best computer network I've ever seen. And, well, it may be good to keep them close. Especially with Dolly keeping an eye on Hypnos; I talked to her just after I talked to Reilly."
Henry nodded. "Well, if you're there. But convincing Ms. Asaji is going to be tough."
"Daddy!" Suzie yelled, running into the living room. "Alice is such a neat person! I wanna be just like her when I grow up!" Alice, standing in the hallway, shrugged helplessly.
Henry shook off the image of 'Goth Suzie', and returned the gesture. "Yes, she's like this at home, too." he said to Alice. "Suzie, don't run around like that!"
"But it's so nice here!" Suzie replied. "I want to see everything! Like what's behind this door!"
"Uh, Suzie, no..." Robert and Alice said, standing up. Too late.
"Puppy!" Suzie shouted.
"Huh? They gone yet?" the dog asked, looking confusedly.
Henry checked his digivice. Yep, it was flashing softly. Dobermon, the screen said. Champion level digimon, vaccine type. "Mr. McCoy...?"
Alice sighed, holding out her digivice too. In a bizarre twist, it had a pink ring around the screen, but otherwise resembled Henry's digivice. "Everyone, this is Dobermon..."
"A friend for Terriermon!" Suzie cheered. "Hooray!"
"Henry..." Janyu said, looking faint.
"Moumantai." Henry replied, wondering which god he had insulted.
==
"Matsuki residence...Oh, hello Jeri. Alright, I'll get him. Takato!"
"Coming mom!" Takato yelled, running down the stairs. "Who is it?"
"It's Jeri. She said she wanted to talk to you about something important."
Takato scratched his head. "Oh, uh...thanks mom."
"Just remember, you have to be home by 8:00."
"Yeah I...HEY!" Grinning, Takato's mother left the room. "Jeri? What's up?"
"Takato!" Jeri said over the phone." I just got a call from Hitomi! Hypnos wanted to hire us!"
"GWAAH?"
==Next Day
"So now what?" Takato asked. All of the Tamers had met in Ms. Asaji's classroom. "Should we trust them? I mean, they already know who we are."
"I think we can trust them." Henry replied. "Dad's there, and Mr. McCoy's daughter is a tamer too."
Nami blinked. "Another tamer?"
Henry nodded. "Alice McCoy. She goes to another school. She met her partner Dobermon a few months ago."
Hitomi shuddered. "I wonder if this means something bad is about to happen."
"Relax." Takato said. "That sort of stuff only happens on TV. I mean, just because digimon start showing up here and everyone starts becoming a tamer doesn't mean that the Dark Masters are going to...ah nuts." he trailed off as Hitomi gave him her version of June's 'are you TRYING not to think?' look. "Never mind."
"Hey, has Gabumon said anything?" Henry asked Jeri. "He came here pretty recently."
Jeri shook her head. "No, he never wants to talk about it. I...didn't think I should push him too hard about it."
"It's probably for the best." Nami cut in. "I'm sure there's nothing happening in the Digital World that we have to worry about. Maybe all those digimon that are appearing are just looking to find partners, or to get stronger." She subtly nudged Hitomi before she could add to that. "And I think we're getting sidetracked."
"Perhaps we should hear them out." Jeri said. "I mean, if we're all there, and Henry's dad is too, and that lady that helped us get into Hypnos is working there too, there's not much that can happen, right?"
"I guess." Nami admitted. "So you'll all go Friday after school?" Everyone agreed, and the all the tamers except Hitomi left the room. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's just that...when the first digidestined appeared in my world, it was because something terrible was about to happen. For Aunt Kari and the other original digidestined, it was because the Dark Masters were trying to take over. Ryo and Ken became digidestined because Milleniumon was going to attack the other digidestined. And mom and dad became digidestined when the Dark Ocean tried to take over the digital world. If something like that is happening here..."
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Nami repeated.
Hitomi nodded, unwilling to say Nami was not being truthful. Hitomi knew Nami was as scared as she was.
==Friday.
Hitomi left the school, walking home with Ms. Asaji. "See?" the teacher asked. "You looked lovely today."
"I guess." Hitomi admitted, carrying the dress in a large plastic bag.
"Kenta seemed to think so." Eevee snickered.
"None of that." Nami said to Eevee. "I hope you didn't mind me setting up that extra shot with just you and me." Hitomi shook her head. "Good. I just...wanted something to remember you, when you finally go home."
Hitomi stopped. "I...I hadn't thought that far ahead."
Nami smiled gently. "I'm sure the portal will stay open, and we can visit each other any time we like. I just...I really enjoy having you here. Besides," she added, "we can't keep Hiroki waiting for you, can we?"
"Eevee!" Hitomi gasped. "You promised!"
"She's very persuasive." Eevee countered. "Besides, I promised nothing."
Hitomi groaned, blushing as she did. She looked up, and caught sight of the Hypnos towers, glinting in the sunlight.
Nami looked up, seeing the same thing. "It's not too late. We can just go home and forget the whole thing. Everyone will understand."
"No." Hitomi answered. "Everyone else will be there, I should go too. And I think Henry said that the Monster Makers had something for me, too."
"Alright." Nami replied, unconvinced. "I just don't want to lose you again. I...you mean a lot to me."
"You mean a lot to me, too." Hitomi answered.
Eevee sighed. "It's a Kodak moment." he muttered.
==
"Hey, you made it!" Takato said as Hitomi walked up, Eevee and Noctowl with her. All the other Tamers, except for Alice, were there. "Well, I guess we go in."
"Brilliant plan, goggle head." Rika muttered. "You know this could be a trap."
"Then why'd you come?" Takato replied.
"Someone has to haul your butt out of the fire." Rika answered. Renamon nodded slightly, but said nothing.
"I'm sure we'll be fine." Terriermon interrupted. "Henry's dad is practically running the place. Including the payroll system, from what I hear."
"Terriermon." Henry scolded, shaking his head. "Let's go, they're all waiting for us."
Hitomi looked up at the towers, still a bit uneasy. Jeri walked over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "We'll be fine, don't worry. Gabumon will make sure nothing happens, right?"
Gabumon nodded. "I will not permit anything to happen to either Jeri or to you, Hitomi."
Hitomi smiled. "Thank you." She went in, Jeri walking alongside her.
The group went up a flight of stairs, and met Janyu on the way. "What Hypnos wants to do, now anyway, is to keep track of digimon that appear in the city, and prevent them from wrecking wherever they show up. So far, Hypnos can track digimon, but you kids are the only ones that have been able to fight these digimon effectively." Janyu led them to a large elevator, big enough for everyone to fit into.
Gabumon nodded. "We can sense when digimon appear, and in what direction they are. That sense is stronger here, but I think that's because there are so few digimon that are actually here."
Janyu looked at Gabumon. "How many digimon are in the digital world?"
"How many humans are in this world?" Terriermon answered. "We've got more space to play with in the digital world than here."
Janyu frowned. "That's not good. If someone over there decides to have a mass exodus, we could wind up hip deep in digimon."
"What's an exodus?" Guilmon asked. Takato sighed, shaking his head.
"What do you want us to do, then?" Rika asked, still a bit suspicious.
Janyu shrugged. "Basically, what you've been doing to this point. All we would do is keep track of digimon appearing here, and act as a central headquarters for you." Janyu glanced at Takato out of the corner of his eye. "No, you won't be cutting school to battle digimon."
"Ah nuts." Takato muttered.
"Do we get bread?" Guilmon asked
"They don't have the budget to cover your stomach." Terriermon joked, getting a laugh out of everyone there.
"We'll see what we can do." Janyu answered, shaking his head at Guilmon. Takato shrugged helplessly. The elevator chimed, and the doors opened, letting everone step into the Scanning Room.
"What is this place?" Jeri asked.
"They really do have a super digimon detector!" Takato gasped. Henry smacked his forehead.
"You could call it that." Talli said, walking over. "Welcome to Hypnos. I'll give you the grand tour of the place."
"Can we start at the kitchen?" Guilmon asked.
==
About an hour later, the tour finished. Hitomi felt a bit more relaxed now, having seen how this secret government project was run. "You OK, kid?" Eevee asked. Hitomi nodded. "Good. I'm still a bit edgy about being here, but if you trust what Reilly said, that's good enough for me."
"Eevee..."
Eevee shook his head. "I mean it. I'm responsible for keeping you out of trouble, and I've done a lousy job of it up until now. What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry, I should have fought harder when those thugs jumped us."
"It's me who should apologize." Reilly said, stepping out of an office. "Can I talk to you and Eevee alone for a few minutes?"
Hitomi looked over her shoulder. Rika and Renamon were there, tensed up and waiting for Hitomi's reaction. She knew that the other tamers were not far away. "A-Alright." she said, stepping into the office. Reilly led Hitomi to a chair, let her sit down, and sat behind a large desk.
"Hitomi, I know you can never forgive me for what happened. It was inexcusable, what Mr. Yamaki and I did to you
and Eevee. But, for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Hitomi nodded, as did Eevee, though the pokemon was a bit more hesitant about it. "After losing Ryo to a digimon, I think Mr. Yamaki let revenge cloud his judgement. And I let myself get dragged along with him."
Rika, who had been listening in, stepped in the office. "Excuse me, did you say...Ryo? As in Ryo Akiyama?"
Hitomi glanced at Reilly, confused. "Akiyama?"
Reilly nodded. "Yes, that was...you were the one at the tournament." Reilly gasped, recognizing Rika. "It happened just after Ryo won. We were coming home, and this man dropped a blue card that turned Ryo's card reader into a digivice, like the ones you carry now."
Rika stepped back, stunned. "I found a blue card too; someone dropped a booster pack with it in it."
"Takato said Guilmon appeared after he found a blue card and used it on his card reader too." Hitomi said. "Who makes those cards?"
"Bandai; they control the whole digimon franchise." Reilly replied. Smiling wryly, she added, "I wonder how they'd react if they knew digimon were real? Well, we have something to look into now. If we can find another of these blue cards, we may have a clue as to why digimon are appearing."
Rika glanced at the wall clock. "I'd better get going. Are you going to be alright, Hitomi?"
"Yes. Thanks." Rika shrugged, and left, Renamon disappearing into the shadows. "I guess I should get going too."
"Before you do..." Reilly said, getting something out of her desk. "Ms Asaji told me about where you came from. Mr. Wong and Talli did some work, and they made this for you." Reilly handed over several small items. Looking at them, Hitomi saw that they included a birth certificate, passport, and a few other pieces of identification. "You are now officially a citizen of Japan, with Ms. Asaji listed as your legal guardian."
"How..." Hitomi gasped.
"Well, Hypnos does have access to all the communications systems of the world. That should make living here a bit easier for you, until we find a way to get you home."
"Thank you."
"Wait." Reilly suddenly asked. "You sound like you know Ryo; I saw how you reacted when you heard his name."
Hitomi shook her head. "I think it's a different Ryo than the one you were talking about. The Ryo Akiyama where I come from is a digidestined and a very skilled pokemon trainer. He also married Caryl Kyashi and they adopted a daughter, though I haven't seen any of them in years." Reilly slumped a bit in her chair. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's actually nice knowing that there is another Ryo out there..."
==Wednesday
Jeri and Hitomi walked to the park together, having said they would meet Takato and Henry there so they could play with Guilmon and Gabumon. "I guess we're kind of like government agents now." Jeri said conversationally.
"I suppose. Mom and dad were surprised when I told them." Hitomi smiled, remembering her father's reaction (along the lines of 'you're doing WHAT now?' -ed). At that moment, her pokegear rang.
"Hitomi, it's Talli." the voice said over the phone. "There's a bio-emergence taking place near the park. Can you check it out? It looks fairly small."
"We're guessing a rookie or low level champion digimon, at best." Janyu's voice added.
"We're nearly there now." Hitomi said, looking around. She spotted a small cloud of fog appearing, heralding the creation of a digital field. She glanced at Jeri. "Shall we go? The others should be there by now."
Jeri nodded, taking out a pair of sunglasses. Hitomi did likewise, and the two friends ran towards the digital field, Hitomi calling Eevee out of his pokeball as they ran.
Next Episode
Makuramon makes his move, sabotaging the Juggernaut program that Yamaki created and opening a giant digital rift. Through it comes Vikaralamon, intent on destroying the Hypnos building and ensuring that the rift will not close. Can any of the tamers stop Vikaralamon, and save Calumon and Unown from Makuramon? Next time, on Digicross Tamers episode 16:
'WarGrowlmon, defend Hypnos!'
"Oh?" Talli asked. "Who's in charge now?"
"Me." Reilly replied.
"Well, congratulations." Talli replied acidly, ignoring Reilly's flinch at her tone. "Do you really think I could just come back after what you did to that poor little girl?"
Reilly frowned. "How many times do I have to apologize for that? And who do you think let you, Henry, and Rika in without alerting the security teams?"
"Then I guess we're even."
Reilly fought back the urge to scream. Truth be told, she still felt miserable about what she did, and what she helped Yamaki do, to Hitomi Motomiya. "Talli, I'm begging you. I'm sorry about what happened, but I can't change what happened. You're my best friend, and one of the best programmers out there. Please come back. You're second to me in seniority at Hypnos, you'll be second in command there."
Talli looked up. Reilly did look sincere, and the two had been friends since Reilly had moved to Tokyo several years back. "Alright. I'll come back."
--------------
Digicross Tamers episode 15
'Hypnos' new chief.'
--------------
==Downtown Tokyo, later that night
The Wong family made their way through the apartment building, trying to track down a the home of Robert 'Dolphin' McCoy and his family. "He never could give good directions." Janyu grumbled. "This is the third place we've checked."
"Now, dear," Meilin Wong said, "you know that he didn't mean to do that. It's just the way he is, that's all."
"Well, I hope we get there soon. I think Suzie's getting a little bored of the whole thing." Janyu cast a glance back at his daughter, who was looking around, face glum.
Meilin shrugged. "Maybe we should have let her bring that rabbit doll she likes so much."
Henry, walking behind Suzie, suppressed a shudder. "Mom, you know she'd lose it."
"Hey down there!" Robert called from an open doorway. "About time!"
"Next time, have Anita give the directions!" Janyu replied, running up. "We went through two different buildings before we got here."
"It's not my fault that you can't follow directions." Robert replied calmly. "If you'd read them the right way, you could have avoided all this." He leaned over, stage-whispering to Meilin, Henry, and Suzie. "You should have seen him in college. He couldn't find the student lounge if you painted arrows on the floor. Come on in! Alice! Company's here."
"Little Alice?" Meilin asked. "I haven't seen her in years! How is she? And where's Kenny?"
"Kenny's visiting his uncle in America. And Alice has...changed...Ah, here she is." Alice stepped into the entry hall, not saying anything. She was dressed all in black, and had a silver crucifix hanging from a thin chain around her neck. Her face was hard to read, as if she was keeping all her emotions in check.
Suzie stared wide-eyed at Alice. "You're really pretty." she breathed.
Blinking, Alice glanced at Suzie, then at her father. That wasn't the normal response she got. "Um...thank you?"
Suzie smiled. "But wouldn't you look better in pink?" Everyone else facefaulted.
"Has she been talking to Terriermon?" Janyu asked Henry quietly.
"Not that I know of. I'll ask him when we get home." Henry replied.
==Asaji home, about the same time.
"Nonsense," Nami said to Hitomi, "I think you'll look lovely in it tomorrow."
Hitomi eyed the dress uneasily. School photos were scheduled for tomorrow, and Nami had suggested Hitomi wear the dress that Rika's mother had given her. "Isn't it a little too much for a school photograph?"
"You can never look too nice for such a thing." Nami replied. "A lot of the girls in your class are going to find their best clothes for this. You can just wear your normal school outfit, and change when it's time for your photograph to be taken."
"Hey, relax." Eevee added. "You'll blow them out of the water. You sure did a job on Kenta the other day."
Nami looked up. "Kenta?"
Eevee nodded. "He was watching while we were practising at Rika's place. I figured he wasn't a threat as long as Kazu wasn't there."
Nami grinned. "The principal kept Kazu after class for throwing doughnuts in the pool."
Eevee sighed. "Figures. Anyway, Rika's mom comes out and asks Rika to try on a new dress. Somehow, Hitomi got pulled in."
"Well, she did ask nicely." Hitomi said, blushing.
Eevee smirked. "You should have seen her when she came out. Her face matched the colour of the dress. Rika's mom was so impressed with how it looked on her, she decided to let Hitomi keep it."
"Well, that was nice of her." Nami said. "Trust me, you'll look lovely tomorrow. We can keep the dress with my things in the teacher's lounge. That's what I'm doing with the other girls' dresses tomorrow as well. Now you'd better wash up, dinner's going to be ready soon."
There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Hitomi said, walking over to the door. She opened the door. "Who is...." she gasped, stepping back. Eevee looked up, saw who it was, and quickly moved between Hitomi and the newcomer, growling fiercely. Nami looked up, grabbed Noctowl's pokeball, ready to release the bird if need be.
"C...Can I come in?" Reilly asked.
==5 minutes later
"You're kidding." Nami said quietly. Hitomi had remained silent, Eevee placing himself between his trainer and the Hypnos agent.
Reilly sighed. "Look, things have changed, Hypnos doesn't want to harm any of the digimon or their partners."
"I beg to differ." Eevee snarled.
Reilly flinched, taken aback by the rage in Eevee's voice. "It has changed. Digimon are still appearing in Tokyo, and we want to find out why. Yamaki did cross the line, yes. Did I do anything to stop him? No. I should have, but I didn't. I want to start making up for that right now."
"How?" Nami asked.
"Hypnos was formed with the goal of determining the threat that digimon posed to this world. Mr. Yamaki...no, Isao Akiyama turned that into a personal vendetta against digimon. He blames all digimon for the death of his son, Ryo."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Nami replied evenly. "But that doesn't make up for what you put Hitomi through."
"No, it doesn't. But I want to put Hypnos back on the course it was originally intended to take; a means of detecting and isolating digimon before they can damage the city. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Hypnos would like to hire the tamers?"
"Oh, that's too rich." Eevee said. "Tell me, what did you have in mind for isolating digimon? Was it-"
"Eevee." Hitomi whispered. "Wait."
"Hire them?" Nami asked, incredulous. "They're just kids!"
"Kids that have had the most success in dealing with digimon appearing here in Tokyo. We can detect digimon appearing, but there's nothing we can do beyond that. I plan on approaching all the tamers, and all the monster makers, too. That includes Mr. Wong. Just think about it, OK?" Reilly left.
"Well?" Eevee asked Hitomi.
"She wasn't lying." Hitomi answered. "I think she was serious."
"You mean...No, I won't allow it! Who knows what they might do!"
"I got to go with Ms. Asaji." Eevee said. "I know you have a good sense about these things, but I don't trust them. Even if Henry's dad is working with them."
"Why don't we talk to Mr. Wong tomorrow, after school?" Hitomi asked. "He might know a bit more about how Hypnos has changed."
Nami relented. "Alright. I just don't want you to get hurt."
Hitomi smiled. "I'll be careful."
==McCoy apartment
"So, that's the situation." Janyu finished. He and Henry had spoken to Robert 'Dolphin' McCoy for about half an hour, filling them in on digimon, what had happened at Hypnos, and, after some persuasion, Hitomi's story. "I know it's a lot to take."
"That kid? Yeah, a bit." Dolphin replied.
"It's true." Henry insisted. "That's why Hypnos was so interested in her and Eevee."
"Hypnos, yeah. So, what about our friendly government conspiracy?" Dolphin asked.
Janyu grimaced. "Actually, I got a call from Reilly today. Yamaki was transfered out of Hypnos, and sent to a head-shrinker for evaluation. He'll probably get buried away somewhere. But now, Reilly's in charge, and she wants to hire us and the kids."
Dolphin blinked. "The kids?"
Henry nodded. "All of the tamers, according to her. She said we're the only ones that can handle the digimon that appear here."
"You don't sound convinced." Dolphin observed.
"Well, I don't like the idea of being a hired gun. Especially for Hypnos."
"Even if I'm there?" Janyu asked.
"Dad?"
"Tao?"
"Reilly made a good point. And I think we can use the resources at Hypnos to help Hitomi get home; they have the best computer network I've ever seen. And, well, it may be good to keep them close. Especially with Dolly keeping an eye on Hypnos; I talked to her just after I talked to Reilly."
Henry nodded. "Well, if you're there. But convincing Ms. Asaji is going to be tough."
"Daddy!" Suzie yelled, running into the living room. "Alice is such a neat person! I wanna be just like her when I grow up!" Alice, standing in the hallway, shrugged helplessly.
Henry shook off the image of 'Goth Suzie', and returned the gesture. "Yes, she's like this at home, too." he said to Alice. "Suzie, don't run around like that!"
"But it's so nice here!" Suzie replied. "I want to see everything! Like what's behind this door!"
"Uh, Suzie, no..." Robert and Alice said, standing up. Too late.
"Puppy!" Suzie shouted.
"Huh? They gone yet?" the dog asked, looking confusedly.
Henry checked his digivice. Yep, it was flashing softly. Dobermon, the screen said. Champion level digimon, vaccine type. "Mr. McCoy...?"
Alice sighed, holding out her digivice too. In a bizarre twist, it had a pink ring around the screen, but otherwise resembled Henry's digivice. "Everyone, this is Dobermon..."
"A friend for Terriermon!" Suzie cheered. "Hooray!"
"Henry..." Janyu said, looking faint.
"Moumantai." Henry replied, wondering which god he had insulted.
==
"Matsuki residence...Oh, hello Jeri. Alright, I'll get him. Takato!"
"Coming mom!" Takato yelled, running down the stairs. "Who is it?"
"It's Jeri. She said she wanted to talk to you about something important."
Takato scratched his head. "Oh, uh...thanks mom."
"Just remember, you have to be home by 8:00."
"Yeah I...HEY!" Grinning, Takato's mother left the room. "Jeri? What's up?"
"Takato!" Jeri said over the phone." I just got a call from Hitomi! Hypnos wanted to hire us!"
"GWAAH?"
==Next Day
"So now what?" Takato asked. All of the Tamers had met in Ms. Asaji's classroom. "Should we trust them? I mean, they already know who we are."
"I think we can trust them." Henry replied. "Dad's there, and Mr. McCoy's daughter is a tamer too."
Nami blinked. "Another tamer?"
Henry nodded. "Alice McCoy. She goes to another school. She met her partner Dobermon a few months ago."
Hitomi shuddered. "I wonder if this means something bad is about to happen."
"Relax." Takato said. "That sort of stuff only happens on TV. I mean, just because digimon start showing up here and everyone starts becoming a tamer doesn't mean that the Dark Masters are going to...ah nuts." he trailed off as Hitomi gave him her version of June's 'are you TRYING not to think?' look. "Never mind."
"Hey, has Gabumon said anything?" Henry asked Jeri. "He came here pretty recently."
Jeri shook her head. "No, he never wants to talk about it. I...didn't think I should push him too hard about it."
"It's probably for the best." Nami cut in. "I'm sure there's nothing happening in the Digital World that we have to worry about. Maybe all those digimon that are appearing are just looking to find partners, or to get stronger." She subtly nudged Hitomi before she could add to that. "And I think we're getting sidetracked."
"Perhaps we should hear them out." Jeri said. "I mean, if we're all there, and Henry's dad is too, and that lady that helped us get into Hypnos is working there too, there's not much that can happen, right?"
"I guess." Nami admitted. "So you'll all go Friday after school?" Everyone agreed, and the all the tamers except Hitomi left the room. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's just that...when the first digidestined appeared in my world, it was because something terrible was about to happen. For Aunt Kari and the other original digidestined, it was because the Dark Masters were trying to take over. Ryo and Ken became digidestined because Milleniumon was going to attack the other digidestined. And mom and dad became digidestined when the Dark Ocean tried to take over the digital world. If something like that is happening here..."
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Nami repeated.
Hitomi nodded, unwilling to say Nami was not being truthful. Hitomi knew Nami was as scared as she was.
==Friday.
Hitomi left the school, walking home with Ms. Asaji. "See?" the teacher asked. "You looked lovely today."
"I guess." Hitomi admitted, carrying the dress in a large plastic bag.
"Kenta seemed to think so." Eevee snickered.
"None of that." Nami said to Eevee. "I hope you didn't mind me setting up that extra shot with just you and me." Hitomi shook her head. "Good. I just...wanted something to remember you, when you finally go home."
Hitomi stopped. "I...I hadn't thought that far ahead."
Nami smiled gently. "I'm sure the portal will stay open, and we can visit each other any time we like. I just...I really enjoy having you here. Besides," she added, "we can't keep Hiroki waiting for you, can we?"
"Eevee!" Hitomi gasped. "You promised!"
"She's very persuasive." Eevee countered. "Besides, I promised nothing."
Hitomi groaned, blushing as she did. She looked up, and caught sight of the Hypnos towers, glinting in the sunlight.
Nami looked up, seeing the same thing. "It's not too late. We can just go home and forget the whole thing. Everyone will understand."
"No." Hitomi answered. "Everyone else will be there, I should go too. And I think Henry said that the Monster Makers had something for me, too."
"Alright." Nami replied, unconvinced. "I just don't want to lose you again. I...you mean a lot to me."
"You mean a lot to me, too." Hitomi answered.
Eevee sighed. "It's a Kodak moment." he muttered.
==
"Hey, you made it!" Takato said as Hitomi walked up, Eevee and Noctowl with her. All the other Tamers, except for Alice, were there. "Well, I guess we go in."
"Brilliant plan, goggle head." Rika muttered. "You know this could be a trap."
"Then why'd you come?" Takato replied.
"Someone has to haul your butt out of the fire." Rika answered. Renamon nodded slightly, but said nothing.
"I'm sure we'll be fine." Terriermon interrupted. "Henry's dad is practically running the place. Including the payroll system, from what I hear."
"Terriermon." Henry scolded, shaking his head. "Let's go, they're all waiting for us."
Hitomi looked up at the towers, still a bit uneasy. Jeri walked over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "We'll be fine, don't worry. Gabumon will make sure nothing happens, right?"
Gabumon nodded. "I will not permit anything to happen to either Jeri or to you, Hitomi."
Hitomi smiled. "Thank you." She went in, Jeri walking alongside her.
The group went up a flight of stairs, and met Janyu on the way. "What Hypnos wants to do, now anyway, is to keep track of digimon that appear in the city, and prevent them from wrecking wherever they show up. So far, Hypnos can track digimon, but you kids are the only ones that have been able to fight these digimon effectively." Janyu led them to a large elevator, big enough for everyone to fit into.
Gabumon nodded. "We can sense when digimon appear, and in what direction they are. That sense is stronger here, but I think that's because there are so few digimon that are actually here."
Janyu looked at Gabumon. "How many digimon are in the digital world?"
"How many humans are in this world?" Terriermon answered. "We've got more space to play with in the digital world than here."
Janyu frowned. "That's not good. If someone over there decides to have a mass exodus, we could wind up hip deep in digimon."
"What's an exodus?" Guilmon asked. Takato sighed, shaking his head.
"What do you want us to do, then?" Rika asked, still a bit suspicious.
Janyu shrugged. "Basically, what you've been doing to this point. All we would do is keep track of digimon appearing here, and act as a central headquarters for you." Janyu glanced at Takato out of the corner of his eye. "No, you won't be cutting school to battle digimon."
"Ah nuts." Takato muttered.
"Do we get bread?" Guilmon asked
"They don't have the budget to cover your stomach." Terriermon joked, getting a laugh out of everyone there.
"We'll see what we can do." Janyu answered, shaking his head at Guilmon. Takato shrugged helplessly. The elevator chimed, and the doors opened, letting everone step into the Scanning Room.
"What is this place?" Jeri asked.
"They really do have a super digimon detector!" Takato gasped. Henry smacked his forehead.
"You could call it that." Talli said, walking over. "Welcome to Hypnos. I'll give you the grand tour of the place."
"Can we start at the kitchen?" Guilmon asked.
==
About an hour later, the tour finished. Hitomi felt a bit more relaxed now, having seen how this secret government project was run. "You OK, kid?" Eevee asked. Hitomi nodded. "Good. I'm still a bit edgy about being here, but if you trust what Reilly said, that's good enough for me."
"Eevee..."
Eevee shook his head. "I mean it. I'm responsible for keeping you out of trouble, and I've done a lousy job of it up until now. What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry, I should have fought harder when those thugs jumped us."
"It's me who should apologize." Reilly said, stepping out of an office. "Can I talk to you and Eevee alone for a few minutes?"
Hitomi looked over her shoulder. Rika and Renamon were there, tensed up and waiting for Hitomi's reaction. She knew that the other tamers were not far away. "A-Alright." she said, stepping into the office. Reilly led Hitomi to a chair, let her sit down, and sat behind a large desk.
"Hitomi, I know you can never forgive me for what happened. It was inexcusable, what Mr. Yamaki and I did to you
and Eevee. But, for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Hitomi nodded, as did Eevee, though the pokemon was a bit more hesitant about it. "After losing Ryo to a digimon, I think Mr. Yamaki let revenge cloud his judgement. And I let myself get dragged along with him."
Rika, who had been listening in, stepped in the office. "Excuse me, did you say...Ryo? As in Ryo Akiyama?"
Hitomi glanced at Reilly, confused. "Akiyama?"
Reilly nodded. "Yes, that was...you were the one at the tournament." Reilly gasped, recognizing Rika. "It happened just after Ryo won. We were coming home, and this man dropped a blue card that turned Ryo's card reader into a digivice, like the ones you carry now."
Rika stepped back, stunned. "I found a blue card too; someone dropped a booster pack with it in it."
"Takato said Guilmon appeared after he found a blue card and used it on his card reader too." Hitomi said. "Who makes those cards?"
"Bandai; they control the whole digimon franchise." Reilly replied. Smiling wryly, she added, "I wonder how they'd react if they knew digimon were real? Well, we have something to look into now. If we can find another of these blue cards, we may have a clue as to why digimon are appearing."
Rika glanced at the wall clock. "I'd better get going. Are you going to be alright, Hitomi?"
"Yes. Thanks." Rika shrugged, and left, Renamon disappearing into the shadows. "I guess I should get going too."
"Before you do..." Reilly said, getting something out of her desk. "Ms Asaji told me about where you came from. Mr. Wong and Talli did some work, and they made this for you." Reilly handed over several small items. Looking at them, Hitomi saw that they included a birth certificate, passport, and a few other pieces of identification. "You are now officially a citizen of Japan, with Ms. Asaji listed as your legal guardian."
"How..." Hitomi gasped.
"Well, Hypnos does have access to all the communications systems of the world. That should make living here a bit easier for you, until we find a way to get you home."
"Thank you."
"Wait." Reilly suddenly asked. "You sound like you know Ryo; I saw how you reacted when you heard his name."
Hitomi shook her head. "I think it's a different Ryo than the one you were talking about. The Ryo Akiyama where I come from is a digidestined and a very skilled pokemon trainer. He also married Caryl Kyashi and they adopted a daughter, though I haven't seen any of them in years." Reilly slumped a bit in her chair. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's actually nice knowing that there is another Ryo out there..."
==Wednesday
Jeri and Hitomi walked to the park together, having said they would meet Takato and Henry there so they could play with Guilmon and Gabumon. "I guess we're kind of like government agents now." Jeri said conversationally.
"I suppose. Mom and dad were surprised when I told them." Hitomi smiled, remembering her father's reaction (along the lines of 'you're doing WHAT now?' -ed). At that moment, her pokegear rang.
"Hitomi, it's Talli." the voice said over the phone. "There's a bio-emergence taking place near the park. Can you check it out? It looks fairly small."
"We're guessing a rookie or low level champion digimon, at best." Janyu's voice added.
"We're nearly there now." Hitomi said, looking around. She spotted a small cloud of fog appearing, heralding the creation of a digital field. She glanced at Jeri. "Shall we go? The others should be there by now."
Jeri nodded, taking out a pair of sunglasses. Hitomi did likewise, and the two friends ran towards the digital field, Hitomi calling Eevee out of his pokeball as they ran.
Next Episode
Makuramon makes his move, sabotaging the Juggernaut program that Yamaki created and opening a giant digital rift. Through it comes Vikaralamon, intent on destroying the Hypnos building and ensuring that the rift will not close. Can any of the tamers stop Vikaralamon, and save Calumon and Unown from Makuramon? Next time, on Digicross Tamers episode 16:
'WarGrowlmon, defend Hypnos!'